To make the process of revamping our Academy Articles go as smoothly as possibly, the Moderator and Administration teams are asking you to follow these few, short guidelines when submitting an article.

Topic Location: All submissions must be made in either the Upper Concourse or Tactica. Our ‘Ui members can begin the discussion on their topic in either location, while our ‘Saal and ‘La must begin it in the Upper Concourse. This should not be a deterrent to anyone, as all articles will be read and debated in both locations before they become finalized (where they will still be debated and checked) for the Academy. We urge you to participate, as great articles can come from any of our members.

Topic Title: No matter what you want your article called in the end, please include a notation showing that it is an Academy submission at the beginning of the title. This will help the ‘Ui+ to identify which threads are oriented towards a possible future inclusion into the Academy. Having “[Article Submission]” before your title will help us greatly.

Submission Format: While finalization for the formatting has not been decided upon, we do ask that headers for different sections, such as “Introduction” or “Explanation of Equipment” are clear enough to differentiate them from the rest of the article. This will also help in the case that two or more members submit articles on the same topic, just in case those need to be merged. Using the previous Academy Articles as guidelines for this may be useful.

Submission Content: While many of us have been playing for a while, there are still many more for whom 5th Edition is the first time that they’ve played 40k. We are structuring our Academy to be the first stop for new Tau players, giving them an overview of the various units and equipment available to them and the enemies that they will face. As such, writing your article as if 5th Edition is the only edition (i.e. no comparisons to 4th Edition) will help de-muddy the article, plus comparisons won’t help a new player. You also want to avoid acronyms wherever possible, such as BRB or JSJ, as these are not easily understood until you are "in the know" for both Tau and 40k lingo. Keep in mind, however, that we are not just looking for basic articles, but specialized tactics and in-depth discussions of units and wargear available to the Tau army. Eiglepulper's [url]Humble Disruption Pod[/url] article, among others, are more along the lines of what we are asking for.

Personal Opinion: Every player plays 40k differently and uses their army differently, and many don’t like other people telling them what to use. Please avoid stating a personal opinion anywhere in your article (such as “Fireknives are the best! I use them all the time!”) in favor of straight facts (such as “Fireknives can kill on average...”). Facts will help a new player much more than unsupported opinion, and it allows them to weigh the pros and cons for each unit/equipment option on their own. They can also always stop by the Upper Concourse or Tactica for the more opinionated posts.

Fact Checking: As always, only state rules that are true. If you think you know how a rule works, look it up a few times and have the book (Rulebook or Codex, or preferably both) open in front of you while you write. It does no one any good if the information provided is false, especially if they haven’t got a solid grasp on the core rules or are encountering a rule for the first time. One example would be to avoid mentioning that Crisis suits can move in the Assault phase after they deep strike (following just the rules in the Rulebook), as it is clearly stated in our codex that they cannot. Remember, codex overrides the BRB when dealing with the same rule (like our Jetpacks).

We understand that two or more members may submit an article on the same subject at the same time; this is perfectly fine! In this case, those members may be asked to collaborate and work together on the topic through PMs, e-mail, or other forms of communication. The combined article will then be subject to discussion in either the Upper Concourse or Tactica, following the above procedure. All of the authors will be credited with their work on the topic, just like a school group project. Remember that working together may be better than working alone; very few scientific discoveries are made by just a single person.

With all this in mind, get out there and start working for the Greater Good!